Lazy Afternoon
by Akira the White
Summary: Again, since I got nowhere to put this, I'm putting it in the SD category again. Another short story idea.


Characters: (Just a proposal so far =P)

Rose Langston

Marlow Blakewood

**Lazy Afternoon**

Marlow was, at the moment, sitting on a bench outside of the town's largest clock tower. It was a rather peaceful afternoon in the summer. The skies were calm and clear, which was definitely ideal for what he had in mind. As a matter of fact, for Marlow, it was a special day. Today was the day that he was getting together with one of his classmates. Marlow checked his watch. It was 5:15 in the afternoon. He shrugged. There was still 15 minutes before the arranged meeting time. The fact of the matter was he was so excited that he actually came about an hour ago. Marlow wasn't chancing being late.

Marlow sighed and looked up at the clouds. "Well, it certainly has been a long time coming, hasn't it?"

The person that he was so eager to see was Rose, a classmate that he had known for about a year. Despite being acquainted for a little over a year, they had a pretty good relationship with one another. Marlow cared about Rose with such vehemence that is seemed like she was a sister. Though Marlow never admitted it to his friends, he did like her. For Marlow, this get together was sort of like a date; but he would never bring himself to think of it like that.

Marlow continued waiting outside the clock tower. After about 10 more minutes, Marlow finally spotted Rose walking towards the clock tower. Smiling, he waved his hand in greeting. Upon seeing Marlow, Rose picked up her pace and hurried over to him. "Sorry. Did you wait long?"

Marlow chuckled lightly. "Well, I have. But that would be because I arrived about an hour before we were supposed to meet."

Rose laughed had gave him a friendly slap on the back. "One hour? That's overdoing it a bit, don't you think?"

Marlow decided that this was a good time to tell Rose his idea. "I wanted to meet at the clock tower to try out something. There's an observation platform at the very top. Apparently, you can get an amazing view of the sunset from there."

Rose looked up at the top of the clock tower. Indeed, there was an observation deck just above the clock itself. "Hmm, that sounds like a nice idea. Want to head up right now then?"

Just as he was about to concur, Marlow suddenly had another idea. "Rose, can you go on ahead of me first? I'd like to do something really quickly. It'll take about 5 minutes."

Rose blinked in confusion. "Alright…I go on ahead then." She said in an uncertain voice. Rose turned around and headed into the clock tower, leaving Marlow to do what he needed to do.

Marlow wasted no time. He headed over to a nearby ice cream vendor. _Rose hadn't noticed this_. He though. _I think this might help set the mood_. "Excuse me; can I buy two Firecracker Popsicles please?"

As soon as Marlow had gotten the ice creams, he dashed into the clock tower, and headed towards the nearest elevator. _It's really fortunate that they don't charge an admission fee for this_. He thought. Normally, he'd take the stairs to the top. But if he did that, then he'd keep Rose waiting for too long.

As Marlow headed up the elevator, his heart was pounding. He was suddenly overcome with a feeling of nervousness that he couldn't explain. _Ah, heck. Maybe it's because I don't spend much time alone with girls._ His thoughts seemed to be logical. As he reached the observation platform, and exited the elevator, he found Rose sitting on a bench near the very edge of the platform. Of course, the platform was surrounded by guard rails, but looking down from such a height (5 stories to be precise) is still rather unnerving. Marlow walked up to where Rose was sitting. "Sorry about that." He tried to speak without sounding nervous. "Here, I got something for you." Marlow offered Rose the Popsicle that he held in his right hand.

Rose turned around and saw the Popsicle that Marlow was holding in his hand. "Oh? Ice cream? That's pretty thoughtful of you. Thanks." Rose smiled and accepted the Popsicle.

Marlow then proceed to sit down beside Rose on the bench. There was a long moment of silence while they ate their ice cream. Marlow was struggling to find something to break the ice. Silence in this situation seemed to be particularly suffocating. "So, Rose…how have you been lately?"

Rose turned to face Marlow. "Well, I've been fine so far. There hasn't really been much on my mind lately. So, how are you?"

Marlow turned to look straight ahead of him. "I've been okay myself. The summer is sort of boring and fun at the same time. Its fun since there's no homework, but boring since there's a lack of purpose asides studying and relaxing."

Rose giggled softly. "I think you should look past the homework for now. Summer is a good time to spent time with your friends. Like right now. I'd much rather be here with you than pushing pens on paper."

Marlow blushed slightly upon hearing that. "Haha…yea, that's true."

Marlow suddenly felt compelled to ask a strange question. "Hey Rose." He began uncertainly.

Rose still hadn't looked away yet. "Yes?"

"Have you ever considered getting yourself a boyfriend?" Marlow's voice seemed strangled, as if he had struggled to just pronounce each word.

"Kuku." Rose chuckled. "No, I haven't. The idea is nice and all, but I don't think I could ever maintain a relationship with someone. Well, how about you? Are you looking for a girlfriend? Or other-friend?"

Marlow turned to face Rose with a slightly insulted look on his face. "What do you mean other-friend? What are you suggesting there, Rose?"

Rose burst out laugh. "Oh, it's nothing, it's nothing."

Marlow, despite feeling a bit embarrassed, couldn't help but smile. "I most certainly am not looking for an "other-friend" as you call it. The idea of having a girlfriend sounds kind of nice to me, though. I can't say that I'm really boyfriend material, however."

Rose suddenly had a mischievous looking grin on her face. "Well," She said in a teasing voice, "Would it make you feel better if I said I'd be willing to date you?"

Marlow's face flushed red, and he promptly turned his back to Rose. "Eh…No…it's alright…"

Rose started laughing again. "Haha! Your face is red, Marlow. What's the matter?"

Marlow still felt too embarrassed to turn around. "Well, um, I've never been told anything like that before, even if it was a joke. "

Rose was still giggling uncontrollably. "Of course I'm joking. No need to be so flustered, Marlow."

Rose suddenly stopped laughing. "Marlow, look at that!"

Marlow turned to look where Rose was pointing. What he saw next stunned him momentarily. The sunset looked so gorgeous. The purple sky and violet clouds combined with the glowing red sun looked amazing. Whoever said that the sunset looked awesome from here definitely wasn't lying.

Marlow recovered in a few seconds. "That looks really nice, doesn't it?" He asked.

Rose suddenly perked up again. "Hey, Marlow, do you know why the sun looks red when it's setting?"

Marlow shook his head. "No, I have no idea."

"Ah, let me explain it then." Rose was grinning from ear to ear. "The sun gives off light, right? Light is made up of all different kinds of colours. And the one that travels the farthest is red."

Marlow laughed and gave Rose a light shove. "As if I had asked! Know it all!"

Rose and Marlow both laughed for a while. _If this is a dream, I'd really hate to wake up right about now._ Marlow was really enjoying this; it was very rare for someone like him to relax and have fun like this.

Unfortunately for Marlow, time does not wait for people to enjoy moments like this. After another hour of talking about school, life, and other topic, Rose's cell phone rang.

"Oh, hey, give me a moment." Rose appeared to be flustered slightly as she answered her phone.

Marlow nodded. "Alright. Take your time."

Rose elegantly stood up, and walked away from the bench. Marlow was left sitting by himself for a while. He took a few more bites out of his ice cream, as he waited for Rose to return. His eyes wandered aimlessly among the horizon for about a minute, before Rose came back.

Rose bowed slightly. "Sorry Marlow, but my father wants me to go home now. It's about 6:30 now, and he says I need to finish my school work."

Marlow was disheartened to hear that. Since they went to different schools now, rarely did they ever get a chance to see each other. He sighed loudly. "Well, if it's your dad, I suppose there's no helping it. Here, I'll walk you home."

Rose was taken aback for a moment, before regaining her composure and speaking again. "…Well, are you sure? Don't you have something to do as well?"

Marlow smiled and shook his head. "Nah. It's alright."

Marlow and Rose left the observation platform and exited the clock tower. The sun had already descended past the horizon at this point, and was no longer visible. The only light that was present now was the faint street lights that illuminated the sidewalks.

As soon as they had left the clock tower though, Marlow suddenly found himself at a lack of words. _I don't think we've ever done this before_. He thought silently. The only sounds that were audible were the sound of Rose's footsteps, and of his breathing. Eventually though, Rose threw him a rope. "So, correct me if I'm mistaken, but this is the first time we've walked alone together like this?"

Marlow nodded. "So it would seem. I can't remember if I've done anything like this before."

Rose giggled softly. "Well, how do you feel? This would be the first time you've ever walked a girl home, right?"

Marlow's cheeks flushed red and he turned away. "W-well, it is. And um…I'd be lying if I said I never wanted to try something like this." He puckered up his lips like a duck's bill. "The truth is, it's sort of awkward as well."

"Kuku." Rose found Marlow's bashfulness to be rather amusing. "Well, it's alright. It's understandable. But we're friends. There's no need to be like that. We're allowed to be close."

Marlow still kept his head tilted away, but he nodded. "I guess…"

_Well, I guess I really do like her…_Marlow thought.

As soon as that though had passed through his mind, they had arrived at Rose's house. Rose and Marlow turned to face each other. "Well, this is it then, I suppose." Rose said, with a hint of sadness in her voice.

Marlow felt rather saddened himself. But, there was one thing that he could do. "Hey, Rose." He began.

Rose looked up to meet his eyes. "Yes?"

Marlow slowly took reached out with his arms to gently take Rose's hands. Rose flinched, but did not resist.

Marlow looked at Rose's face, as though he would never see her again after this. "I promise I'll see you again someday. After we graduate from high school, we can get together again. We can go back to that clock tower, and watch the sunset again."

As Rose listened to Marlow's words, it seemed as though she would break down in tears at any second. Marlow noted this, and continued in a gentle voice. "So, how bout it?"

Rose suddenly had a forlorn look on her face, and said, "I don't think that will happen. I'm moving away to Europe in a few months…"

Marlow's face dropped upon hearing that. He was on the verge of tears too. "Oh…well…" He didn't know what he should say in such a situation.

Suddenly, Rose embraced Marlow. Marlow was surprised by the sudden act, but did not say anything. Instead, he gently wrapped his arms around her. They stood there together for a moment, before Rose whispered to him, "Thank you…You being here means so much to me."

Marlow let go of Rose, and she slowly backed away, as though she was compelled to stay, but was being called away by something important. Marlow held up his hand in a peace symbol, smiled sadly and said quietly, "Even if we can never meet again, I'll always remember you, Rose."

A single teardrop fell down from Rose's eyes, as she nodded and slowly walked away. She looked back at Marlow once more, as if she were committing him to memory. Rose then entered her house, and closed the door behind her, leaving Marlow to stare at a cold, hard, wooden barrier.

"I'll miss you." Marlow's words dissipated into the air. He took one last moment to look at Rose's house, before he turned his back to it and began to walk away. _Friends are always with you, so long as you keep them in your heart._ His thought was not without a bit of sadness, but Marlow had no choice but to move on. After what seemed like several days, Marlow finally returned home. After given a half-hearted response to his parent's inquiry as to why he was so late, he immediately dropped into his bed, without taking off his clothing, and drifted off into a world of dreams.


End file.
